No start, no crank. Click, click....

[dimitridodys]

I had this very same problem.

It actually turned out to be a poor connection of the positive battery terminal clamp. The appearance was good but removing the clamp and reinstalling on the cable securely fixed the problem.

[spider2081]

Eve if you have everything working correctly I think adding a starter relay between the ignition switch and the starter solenoid is a good idea.
The automatic transmission cars came with one and they have fewer "click" issues than the 5 speed cars.
Here is a relay circuit diagram:

[aaalbedo]

Have another look at the ground cable. On my '84, the cable was soldered or brazed to the body and looked nice and clean at the transmission end. The body connection didn't look too bad but was not making good contact, or maybe the cable itself had too much resistance. I replaced it with a new cable bolted to the fixed end of my suspension and that cured the problem.

If this helps yours too, then check your clutch cable since that becomes the next route to ground and it can suffer heat damage and fail prematurely.

Larry

[KevAndAndi]

Eve if you have everything working correctly I think adding a starter relay between the ignition switch and the starter solenoid is a good idea.
The automatic transmission cars came with one and they have fewer "click" issues than the 5 speed cars.
Here is a relay circuit diagram:

+1. Everyone should have a starter relay. It's easily done with parts from Amazon or elsewhere.

[TJenkins]

Hi Mark, thank you for your response. I'll state up front that I'm no mechanic, I essentially know enough (or can figure out) enough to be dangerous. Interesting, could the ignition switch be the issue? I noticed that the starting behaviour had a relationship to how I turned the key. Some times if I quickly turned the key I would just get a click but if I very slowly and gently turned the key following the click the starter would engage. Not sure if this was a coincidence or not as I only experienced it a couple of times before I parked it and it subsequently stopped working. Is there a method for determining if the switch is having issues?

Thanks, very much appreciate your support,
Thomas

[spider2081]

There is a very good chance the ignition switch is at least part of your problem. Most ignition switches that are intermittent with the draw of a starter solenoid are still plenty good enough to operate a Bosch 30/40 amp contact rated relay installed between the ignition switch and the starter solenoid. Many Spider owners have installed the circuit I posted with reliable results. If you have a Sipea (original brand) ignition switch they are repairable and a better product then the LADA replacement.

[So Cal Mark]

check the voltage at the solenoid when cranking, that will tell you if the ign switch is the issue

[DieselSpider]

There is a very good chance the ignition switch is at least part of your problem. Most ignition switches that are intermittent with the draw of a starter solenoid are still plenty good enough to operate a Bosch 30/40 amp contact rated relay installed between the ignition switch and the starter solenoid. Many Spider owners have installed the circuit I posted with reliable results. If you have a Sipea (original brand) ignition switch they are repairable and a better product then the LADA replacement.

Even if the ignition switch is not currently an issue taking the load of the high amperage draw starter solenoid off of it and having a $10 40 amp relay available locally at just about any auto parts store carry that load instead is very good insurance against future ignition switch problems. Those 40 amp cube relays are inexpensive and are sold sometimes in the Help section of the store as universal lighting relays most often for less than $10 so very cheap insurance against both ignition switch and starter solenoid failures.

[RRoller123]

I am resurrecting this post because the dreaded Click has come back again!! The elimination of C31 just downstream of the Ignition switch had immediately stopped the problem, apparently permanently, and lasted for hundreds upon hundreds of starts with absolutely no incidence of the "dreaded click of death" problem. Then it came back! Once a couple of days ago in the garage, then last night at a cruise and almost stranded me.

I have a new gear reduction starter with integral solenoid, and C31 has been eliminated, so I am thinking one of 3 possible problems:

1.) Battery weak?

New battery a month or two ago, and I tested it this morning on my charger, which measures with a load, and shows not only voltage but % charge. It indicates ok, and the engine spins over no problem when the C.O.D does not occur. So I don't think it is the battery.

2.) Gear Reduction Starter intermittent?

Bought new from AR not too long ago, last year I think, so I doubt this is the problem. But it is worth asking the question: Have there been any reports of a dead spot or intermittent failure with the GR Starters? I doubt it, but it is worth asking.

3.) Bad Ignition Switch?

This is highly probable. It is a replacement switch with different wiring and I have no idea of its age.

4.) C6 or C7 or C50 failure?

I cleaned and tightened these up so I doubt that this is the problem.

5.) Low voltage at the Starter Solenoid?

I am thinking that this may be the problem, although the wiring is so simple... But at any rate, I think I will go ahead and add the relay that has been mentioned.

So after all that babble, here is my question:

If you look at the schematic I posted below, the RED wire from the ignition switch, passing through C6, then C50, energizes the Starter Solenoid, and the actual power for the GR Starter comes directly from the battery. So I am assuming that I will put in a 40A capacity relay that uses the RED wire, preferably at C6, but could be C50, to pull in the relay and pass power to the GR Starter at point 30 on the schematic? And I plan to put in a new ignition switch anyway, just for insurance. I have no idea how old it is and there are so many reports of failure of the aftermarket switches. (?)

Pete

[RRoller123]

I just finished tracing out every connection throughout the starter system from the ignition switch to the starter and its solenoid, and there are no bad connections. ~Zero or a fraction of an ohm all the way through from start ignition switch to starter, and 12.7 VDC all the way through as well.

I can only conclude that there is an intermittent/hi ohm connection in the Ignition switch or a dead spot in the GR Starter causing the recurrence of the "Click of Death", and since the GR Starter is fairly new, from AR, and the ignition switch is an aftermarket of unknown age, I am going with the ignition switch as being the problem. As soon as they are back in stock I am going to replace that puppy.

The relay should help too, since, as someone earlier stated, it requires very low current to trigger it.

Pete

[spider2081]

As stated in a earlier post the holding current for the starter solenoid is about 17 amps one would expect the pull in surge current to be higher that this. Looking at the holding current of 17 amps and a resistance of 0.2 ohms for a bad connection that connection would drop your 12.6 volt battery voltage down 3.4 volts. Now the solenoid sees 9.2 volts which might not be enough to pull in the starter solenoid.
A better way to check connections is to measure the voltage across the connection when the circuit is operating. To check the ignition switch contacts measure the voltage from the brown wire feeding voltage to the ignition switch to the red wire feeding the voltage to the starter solenoid when the ignition switch is in the start position. That voltage should be less than 1 volt.

[RRoller123]

As stated in a earlier post the holding current for the starter solenoid is about 17 amps one would expect the pull in surge current to be higher that this. Looking at the holding current of 17 amps and a resistance of 0.2 ohms for a bad connection that connection would drop your 12.6 volt battery voltage down 3.4 volts. Now the solenoid sees 9.2 volts which might not be enough to pull in the starter solenoid.
A better way to check connections is to measure the voltage across the connection when the circuit is operating. To check the ignition switch contacts measure the voltage from the brown wire feeding voltage to the ignition switch to the red wire feeding the voltage to the starter solenoid when the ignition switch is in the start position. That voltage should be less than 1 volt.

Thanks, I will give that a shot as soon as I have an assistant. But for now, the car is starting and running fine, did 4 cycles around town, start stop off, restart, no problems. But tomorrow is another day....

[georgeramos]

My friends car is in click of death mode. Weve checked all the items we could find from these posts and nada. Actually when it comes to the ignition switch we swapped in a bramd new (aftermarket from AR) switch and still nothin.

He is gonna trailer it to a local electric shop.

[DieselSpider]

If you run a positive lead from the battery to the solenoid tab on the starter you can quickly see if its the solenoid. In a pinch you can start the car this way when the ignition switch is acting up in a similar manner that a mechanics starter switch is used.

https://www.amazon.com/OTC-3650-Heavy-D ... ter+button